Pubdate: Fri, 16 Sep 2016
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Tiffany Crawford
Page: 14

FEDERAL PRISONS BEGIN STOCKING FENTANYL ANTIDOTE FOR OFFICERS

Federal prison officers now have access to the life-saving opioid
blocker naloxone, following a complaint that several front-line
officers in B.C. were exposed to fentanyl.

Jason Godin, president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers,
says members logged a complaint with the Correctional Service of
Canada a few weeks ago after some guards at Mountain Institution in
Agassiz fell ill.

He said paramedics had to administer naloxone to some of the affected
officers, indicating they had been exposed to fentanyl, an opioid that
has led to a surge in overdose deaths in B.C. this year.

"Fentanyl is very dangerous for front-line correctional officers,"
Godin said, adding he did not have specific numbers on how many
overdoses there have been in B.C. prisons. "I know we have issues with
fentanyl in the prisons. There certainly has been a huge problem in
B.C."

Godin said over the past week the union has held several meetings with
CSC, which agreed that the spray version of naloxone should be on site
so officers have quick access in case of exposure.

"We put our concerns on the table to make sure our members are
protected," he said.

Godin said the two parties agreed to have naloxone on site in a
secured area instead of providing it to individual officers.

Prison staff are the latest front-line workers to stock naloxone -
just as some police officers, paramedics and even university health
staff are doing - as the number of overdose fatalities continues to
rise in jails.

CSC spokesman Jean-Paul Lorieau said naloxone is also available to
prison nurses and clinicians as part of an emergency medical response
to drug overdoses.

"We are aware of the dangers posed by fentanyl and other opiates. We
are learning more about various options for the use of naloxone in a
correctional setting," Lorieau said in a statement.

Vancouver police said last week that frontline officers have also been
exposed to fentanyl, and would begin carrying naloxone as a protection
measure. The University of B.C. has also been handing out naloxone
kits to students who say they are drug users.

The province declared a health crisis earlier this year. There were
433 overdose deaths recorded between Jan. 1 and July 31 in B.C., a
nearly 75-per-cent increase compared with the same period in 2015, the
coroner's service reported. More than 60 per cent of those fatalities
were linked to fentanyl-laced drugs.

Police say fentanyl, which is said to be 100 times stronger than
morphine, has been recently showing up in a variety of party drugs
such as cocaine and ecstasy.
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